1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to safety razors and, more particularly, to safety razors adapted to erect low-lying facial hairs for efficient cutting at or above the skin line.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional safety razor implements include a handle adapted to be manually held and means for mounting a blade on the handle for cutting human facial hair at or below the skin line without nicking or cutting the skin. Low-lying or very inclined and thick hairs are generally difficult to cut. To solve this problem, some safety razor implements have included a guard member arranged to have serrations or a roughened surface for stretching the skin and raising facial hair from a normal low-lying position to an erect position for cutting at or below the skin line by the blade. An example of a shaving implement having serrations adapted to grip the skin and raise the hair for cutting is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,138,865, entitled "Safety Razor Having Skin-Stretching and Guide Means," issued to E. Meyer on June 30, 1964.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,272,816 entitled "Safety Razor," issued to Graham P. Leslie on July 16, 1918, utilizes a guard in the form of a bar located some distance from a blade cutting edge so that movement of the guard over the flesh smooths wrinkles in the skin and causes the flesh to billow in front of the razor cutting edge to cause closer cutting of the beard.
Prior art shaving implements designed to cut hair below the skin line are unsuitable for use by people having facial hairs that are generally low-lying and tightly curled. Such facial hairs tend to become ingrown and cause a condition of pseudofolliculitis or inflammation of one or more hair follicles. It has been determined that a safety razor adapted to cut hair below the skin line seems to aggravate a pseudofolliculitis problem.
Accordingly, a safety razor implement is arranged to efficiently cut hair, including low-lying facial hairs, at or above the skin line without stretching or irritating the skin.